I loaded my gear on the Camera Truck this past Friday. The show is Medium, and Jeff Norton and Damon Cleary will be helping me out as boom operators. Damon has been doing the show all season, so his help with the changeover is essential. I'm very lucky to have a great crew.

No new additions to the equipment package for this project, but the new DEVA is on the way.

Just an update... I'll be finishing up the season of "Medium" beginning October 25. Kim Ornitz has mixed the first 8 episodes and will be leaving for another project. They have been picked up for 13 episodes, so it will take me to Christmas. I'll get more information this coming week...

Still quite busy with day calls. Some interviews lined up, nothing definate yet...except for The Entourage in January. I think I was on a different project every day this past week. The Tonight Show has got to be TV heaven. The entire crew was great. I would love to work that show again. The Bush impersonator/interviews were hilarious, I couldn't even look at the guy...

Considering changing the cart around again, no shock there. It's always a work in progress for me.

Okay, it's been a couple of weeks...and pretty busy. Lots of day calls, both TV and reality television. I spent the weekend down in Del Mar with a Bravo show about Dog Show People. After many days of wearing my ENG rig, I've come to the conclusion that I need to think about a lighter rig. My back is killing me! These reality shows never stop shooting...for hours I have to wear the rig. I am considering going to the smaller, and lighter SD302 for when it's only a boom and 2 wires, which is most of the time.

My PSC M4mkII is starting to freak out...yet again. I really think this was a poor mixer from them. So many other companies have come out with better machines, and for the same price range. It's just too unpredictable. The headroom just isn't right.

I'm hoping to hear about some work before the Entourage starts in January. I'd really like to do something in between then and now.

Considerign going back to the verticle cart...from the Magliner. Any thoughts???

Been quite busy with day calls this past 2 weeks. I thought it would be slow, but I was wrong. Just did some openers for Monday Night Football today. Next week is shaping up as well.

I think all is set for Entourage season 2. Thanks to Mark Greenberg for bringing me on board. We start in January.

I got to visit my friend Craig Woods on the set of Bernie Mac today. He's been mixing that show for all 4 years now. We shot some promos for Mr. 3000 with Bernie and Angela Bassett. Pretty much 5 hours of waiting for 20 minutes of shooting.

Filming dog stuff this weekend, music videos next week and car racing next weekend...

Good news. I've been asked to mix season 2 of Entourage for HBO. Sadly we don't start till January, so I still have to find some work. The pressure is releaved a bit however. :)

It looks like a funny show. I've wanted to do a comedy for some time.

It's Labor Day here in the USA, a holiday. I've got a few things planned for the next week, interviews and re-packing the gear for days calls. This past week was spent mostly decompressing from the last show. It takes a few days to get the sleep patterns back in order, whatever that is.

On Friday I put my name on the list for a new DEVA 5. I've been waiting for the bugs to get worked out, and the waiting list seems long enough that I will get mine after many are figured out. It will probably be around 2 months before I see my new machine. All that being said, I can't wait now that I've commited. The Yamaha digital mixer is probably on hold for me now...the DEVA will do all the digital patching that I need. If all goes well with the DEVA V, I might go for the control surface when it comes out.

Still wondering if anyone actually reads this blog. If so, please post a comment...

Thanks!

Okay, the fog has cleared. We had the wrap party last night for Rikers...it was a great party. I can't say enough about the director and producers. They were very sensitive to each department, and especially the sound department. Charles Winkler is truly one of the best to work with...bar none. I hope to do many more with him.

Now...about HD/24P. The camera equipment was really not up to the task in my opinion. Way too many failures for a location package. I couldn't believe how many times the gear went down. If it wasn't the fiber cable it was a board in the camera... I really think Sony has failed in the ruggedness of the F900 and F950. It is fine for the studio, but on location...forget it. It does not save any money. You end up shooting far more throw away material in search of the perfect take. In a normal film set up, everyone prepares for the take in the same manner...rehearse, last looks, shoot, fix, repeat. With the advent of HD, it seems we just shoot the rehearsal and never get really set for the real "1st take". Things start being overlooked, which are usually caught during the rehearsal, and you end up with printed material that has flaws in continuity, dialogue, camera movement, lighting, and whatever else. Then, just because you can, sometimes they never cut and you do the scene 2 or 3 times before anything is fixed. A real bummer for every department. I'm not sure the actors like it either. It's not just on this production that I saw this happening, I've seen it on EVERY 24P show I've worked on.

Now it may seem that I'm venting here, but it really concerns me. We are going for quantity over quality. Not a good trade in my opinion. But, it is just that...my opinion.

I had a few hiccups in gear on this show, but mostly recurring problems that I'm working out. I am considering going to the new Yamaha 01V96 mixer. It is really a great set up for location recording. We'll see....

We wrapped Rikers last night, or I should say this morning...at 7:30am. It was a great experience for our whole crew...I wish them well with the movie.

Cleaning and repairing gear this coming week...nothing on the horizon yet. Day calls most likely.

Two weeks into production of Rikers, and halfway done. Big prison riot scene this past week, very difficult...but well done, I think. I have really enjoyed working with our director and producers. Their attention to all aspects of production is excellent and appreciated. This project will end far too soon for me...

The Jeff's have had their hands full this past week with lots of wires and gear. We were all over the place. My cart looked like an installation...thankfully I didn't have to move for the big scenes. Since we are doing this show on 24P/HD, we tend to move the village as little as possible...sort of shooting around the video world. This has made my antenna loom very essential. We are running the antennae out as much as 100 feet for each set up. It's far better than running multiple wires all over the set, and moving for every set up. I'll try and go into more detail after the show.

We have also done quite a bit of testing for Lectrosonics on this project. There might be a modification to the UM400 series in the works.

We're a week into production. It's a fast paced shoot, not much down time...if any. The actors are great, I'm very impressed. We're having to wire a whole lot more than usual, and than I hoped...but all is sounding good. The DEVA is getting a work out.

Jeff Norton is getting quite a workout as there is little or no rehearsal for anything. It's a very spontainious deal everytime we roll. It make for a very exciting picture.

More next week...

Prep and camera tests went well. We're using a new deck from Sony, a portable HD deck that will record 4:4:4. I'll be sending digital audio to it for scratch track editing. The master audio will be the DEVA, which will be used for the dialogue edit. The camera boys had their hands full for the test, so Jeff and I hung out on the perimeter. All was fine.

We start production tomorrow on a stage downtown. We're there for 2 days then we head to Nelles Prison camp for 12 shooting days.

I'll be testing a stereo mic rig and a new ear wig system on this show. Peter Devlin has graciously loaned me his two systems for testing.

Scouts went well...best I've been on, very organized.  Production meeting was yesterday, quite good...2 hours.  We load the truck today, camera tests are tomorrow.  Last minutes on Friday.

Great group if people assembled for this project.  Looking forward to it, can't wait actually.  Great script...

Wished we had more time for shooting, but that's the project.

Location scouts begin today.  Looking forward to this project, though the 24P thing has really become a pain in the rear.  It has so many variables, simplicity is a thing of the past.  Camera will be working with the new Sony 5000 machine on location this time, I'll be feeding digital right to the machine.  They wanted me to run the machine but I turned that down.  The only drawback is that they will probaly use that track, even though they say they wont.  I'll do my deal, and see what happens.

My workflow will be: DEVA master (24 bit), DAT backup (16 bit), AES through the DAT to 5000 - channels 1 & 2.  I am treating the DAT and the 5000 as backup.  Sync will be from the DEVA via Lockits on all devices.  DEVA and DAT will be 29.97, cross jamming Lockits to 23.97.

Starting a new film next week: Rikers, with DL Hughley.  It's short project, mostly shooting in prison facilities...should be interesting.

My crew will be back with me for this one, Jeff Norton on boom and Jeff Zimmerman as utility.  I'm looking forward to getting everyone back together.

As per usual, I wanted to add something to my cart, and in the process have dismantled the whole thing.  I'm re-doing a few things that have been bugging me over the last few months.  I'm adding two Marshall 7" HD monitors right above the mixing panel.  It should be nice. 

Check back on the website in a couple of days for new pictures...

Ho... Sorry it's been a while. We just got back from the summer, family visits around the country...very glad to be home.

Still doing day calls...Monk this week.

Just finished a very good book: The Zenith Angle, by Bruce Sterling. If you are any kind of geek, it's a must read. It will empower you. :)

I've got some updates to do on the gear, I've been daydreaming while travelling...as ususal. The dual monitor thing has got to change a little. Also, the roll cage will be changing a bit. The barcode system will also be in place.

What to read next?

It's been a couple of days of work per week, not too bad...keeping me busy at least. Tomorrow and Friday I will be back doing ESPN-ESPY awards shoots. I did some of these last year, including the big music video for the opener. Matt Brady has been producing these for some time, nice of him to call me back.

Still waiting to see on a few projects...my name is in the ring for a couple. We'll see...

Had a good time yesterday at Huntington Beach. 2nd unit shoot for Cloud 9 at the AVP volleyball tournament. Very nice day at the beach. I've forgotten how much a DAT recorder weighs...good thing I don't do that everyday. Back to the cart for me...

Looks like it's my turn for day calls. Tomorrow I'm doing some 2nd unit for Cloud 9, starring Burt Reynolds. We're at the beach for a Pro Beach Volleyball tournament. Pretty much run and gun all day, so I'll have to be light.

Hopefully some of these day calls will turn into something more long term.

I got a last minute call on Friday night for a shoot Saturday morning! Thankfully I have a day call package that will fit in my van. It ended up being some pickup shots for the upcoming movie Taxi with Jimmy Fallon and Queen Latifah. I'm glad I have all kinds of playback stuff, as it ended up being playback in a vehicle while recording the actor singing along with the track. None of this was relayed to me in the frantic phone call at 10:30 pm the night before, but as usual... I bring everything. All went without a hitch... :)

I can't stress enough how important it is to be prepared for as much as possible these days. The days of just showing up with a deck and a microphone are long gone...

A big thanks to Jeff Zimmerman for answering his phone late Friday night as well. He didn't boom as much as he did music playback. Another important note...be able to do as many jobs as possible in the sound department, we never know when we have to shuffle around and do other duties.